Soccer bombed but basketball was a hit as lean, young players shot hoops in the bright lights of the gymnasium. Down the hall, music blared while red, blue and green lights flashed onto the dimly lit dance floor. It was 9 p.m., an hour into the gathering which ended at midnight. Teens lined the walls, as if waiting for some signal, before deciding to take to the floor.

At a hallway booth staffed by Bethel High School cheerleaders, party-goers could buy hot dogs, drinks and snacks or play ping-pong and other games in a nearby game room.

Overall, participants rated the night's events as decent.

"I've been here every time," says Atira Furman, 15, of Phoebus High School referring to the last three gatherings at the YMCA. "It's a good meeting place."

It's an event where all are welcome says Jackie Jones, 17, of Bethel High. "We really don't have much to do except hanging on the corners or going to the malls," she says.

"It keeps you out of trouble and it keeps you off the street," says Ricardo Wood, 16, of Phoebus High. "Instead of doing something negative, you're doing something positive."

Some teens say the music played at previous dances was better.

"Oh, no, he's playing the `Electric Slide,' moaned one young would-be dancer.

Later, cheers went up when the DJ played the rhythmic "Freak Like Me" by Adina Howard and more dancers spilled onto the floor.

"I think it's alright," says Shalanda Hawkins, 15, of Hampton High. "Every body is starting to come now - people we know and people we don't know."

Kecoughtan High students Nick Montgomery, 17, and Thomas Johnson, 18, say the parties help break the monotony of a Saturday night. "It's something to do to get out of the house," says Nick.

The Teen Nights, which have averaged about 250 students, are open to Hampton high school students with a school ID or a driver's license. Teens pay $2 and must go through hand-held metal detectors at the door. Inside, unobtrusive adult volunteers and security personnel monitor the action.

Organizers are testing different activities and sites to see which have the most appeal to young people, says Cindy Carlson, director of the Coalition for Youth.

"It's a learning experience for us in our move to develop a teen center," says Carlson who serves on a teen center committee of students and adults from the community. A $ 15,000 United Way grant helps pay for the bi-monthly teen party.

"We've been working hard to bring in people," says committee member Holly Foster, 17, of Bethel High. "We've had basketball and volley games, food, a game room. There's a little bit of everything."

Foster says organizers noticed something right away.

"Basketball was really successful, but the girls hated that because they were no guys on the dance floor," she says.

Holly says the committee wants to create the best combination of attractions and hopefully parlay what they learn into a teen center.

TEEN NIGHT

* Hampton has received a $15,000 United Way grant to help pay for a bi-monthly teen party. The next Teen Night will be held at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Hampton YMCA. The event, designed to provide a safe, fun environment for Hampton teen-agers, features music, dancing, games and more.